How to Take an Empire

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Damn

Ahsoka had planned for many eventualities about her and Vader's conspiracy to overthrown Palpatine. Disagreements with Vader over raising the twins. Disagreements with Vader in general. Dealing with Vader's awful temper. Confronting her own traumas. Raising and leading the rebellion. Eventually explaining to High Command that she was working with Vader. Mediating both sides once Palpatine was dead, hopefully, able to find a middle ground between Vader's Empire and the Republic that most of her High command valued so much. What she had never in a million lightyears planned, prepared, or fathomed for was Vader having a crush on her.

Crush wasn't even the right word. It was too juvenile. Diya had crushes. On her favorite actors in movies and shows and on the musicians who fought the dramatic censoring of the music industry by releasing and playing music from underground venues. What she'd discovered from Vader toward her wasn't a crush. It felt like something a lot more substantial than that. Crush was just the only safe word that she had for it.

If she were absolutely truthful about what she sensed, it wasn't all coming from him. It felt more like a feedback loop, making it impossible to know where the feeling began and where the feeling ended.

But how the hell had this happened?

They probably only saw each other in person three times a year. Four at most. Last year it was twice. They hadn't crossed paths on a mission since Bacrana, but that was because they always made sure to coordinate their missions so they didn't and so Vader could continue to maintain some semblance of official Imperial ignorance to her dealings. Those fortnightly comm calls always took up way too much of her time. The coordination was the easy part. It was getting to the coordination and finishing it in the midst of their bickering or getting sidetracked about one thing or another th—Oh, Ahsoka suddenly thought to herself. That's how it happened. Part of it anyway.

Ahsoka resisted the urge to groan out loud. She was just lonely. Whatever these feelings were, they weren't real. In a galaxy where she was keeping secrets from everyone, it was refreshing to not have to hold back anything from Vader. To not have to hide parts of who she was to protect herself or someone else. It was only natural. The feeling would pass.

"You are thinking incredibly loud right now," Vader said from beside her, his mask back on but without the mechanical breathing after he tweaked the pacemaker to temporarily be silent.

"Stay out of my head then," Ahsoka growled, giving Vader a mental shove.

"I'm not in your head," Vader replied, mentally shoving her back.

Ahsoka started to debate that. But then she remembered how over the past day or so she'd get impressions of a memory that didn't feel like it totally belonged to her. Like a melding of points of view. She hadn't thought much of them before, but now...

"It appears we've found your base," Vader commented as they came upon a small clearing in the dense forest where sat a large metal structure.

It had to be an old outpost from possibly centuries ago by the way the wildlands seemed to have reclaimed it. An early attempt at settling the area before settlers gave up. A quick check with the Force confirmed people were inside. Many of them. All rebels and sympathizers hiding out after the fall out of the attack a few days ago, Ahsoka guessed.

"Okay. Here's the plan," Ahsoka began. "I'll go inside and see what they have to say. If this is the misunderstanding that I hope it is, maybe they can help lead us to the true culprits."

"You think I'm going to let you go inside and face a group of potential terrorists while I stand outside and wait?" Vader asked.

"Yes. That's exactly what you're going to do. I'm not going to intimidate them and give them any ideas by bringing Darth Vader with me. Not only is no one supposed to know we're working together, but it will undoubtedly give people the wrong idea at this point."